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The Drakesfire: Rain of Fire
A New Captain, An Old Ship After nearly a year or so, a lot had changed for those aboard the dreaded and infamous pirate-zeppelin: The Iron Hellbringer. The skirmishes with the Kor'kron and various other government funded war-parties proved only that neither side would relent in their cause. The Kor'kron had not forgotten about the raid upon one of their weapon caches nor the multiple accounts of violent outbursts within the city walls by the rowdy band of cut-throats and cheats. Despite the fact they were outnumbered many times over and, perhaps, even out-gunned most of the time, the captain and crew of the Iron Hellbringer always somehow managed to make a daring escape (though time and again not without losing a crewman). However, with every encounter, each escape only brought promise of another attempt; a more clever and dangerous attempt. With this in mind, Captain Baldax "Slugga" Spazwreck knew it would only be a matter of time before he, his crew, and the zeppelin itself would meet a fiery end. Eventually everyone's luck would run out... Given enough time. '' ''Like a seasoned gambler at the table, the Captain knew when to take the money and run. All bets were off and without many aces left up his sleeve, he came up with a plan. So it was that without so much as a farewell to his crew nor his own brother, Baldax took leave of the ship and went into hiding with the help of an unlikely ally: Gigi Bladebane of The Megabucks Cartel. In the captain's mind, it was in this way he could possibly guarantee the safety of his ship and crew. After all, the Kor'kron sought out only him; to bring him to justice and, undoubtedly, hang him just like any other pirate unfortunate enough to be caught by authorities. If and when they seized the zeppelin, they would find only an empty captain's quarters, a clueless crew, and that would be that. Surely, the hunt would continue, but where would they start? It would be a wild goose chase, if Baldax could stay even just two steps ahead of even their most renowned trackers. In the days and weeks and eventual months that followed, there was no word from the captain to his crew and shortly after that, it seemed as though the Iron Hellbringer was little more than an old fisherman's tale. Left without a captain and with no sense of direction nor guidance, Maldax Spazwreck (Baldax's younger brother) took up his brothers mantle and took command of the Iron Hellbringer; lifting her up into the heavens once more with a new crew, a few new allies, and even a few new modifications. Old as she was, the Iron Hellbringer was still a fierce vessel and quite a horrifying sight to behold when breaking forth through the clouds. The time of the dreaded Captain Baldax Spazwreck, Scourge of The South Seas, The Hellbound Howler, had come to an end... The time of Dread Captain Maldax 'X' Spazwreck had begun to dawn and with it, the promises of wealth, infamy, and victory. '' '''Biding The Time' In the time Maldax had taken over command of the Iron Hellbringer and the Kor'kron had ultimately dismissed the search for the infamous pirate captain, Baldax found himself growing restless in his new lifestyle. Sure, he had found more than friend in Gigi (having married her and found himself becoming a father-figure for her son), but despite these positive changes, Baldax just couldn't shake his lust for adventure, gold, and notoriety. Where once his face and a reward sporting no less than four zeros was posted up in nearly every port across Azeroth, now his face and his deeds were little more than fairy-tales. When the Dread Captain had disappeared from the world, the world soon forgot about the Dread Captain. It was this fact that drove a stake deep into the captains little black heart. He had calculated the risks with going into hiding, however, this was one threat he never saw coming. Many nights, Gigi would catch Baldax simply standing staring out over the balcony; peering long across the sea, over the waves, and into nothingness. Baldax's whole life had revolved around raiding merchant vessels: Alliance, Horde, it didn't matter. Down south he had even "acquired" a few trade routes through some "intense negotiating". If that wasn't enough, Baldax also ran a rather lucrative business capturing, breaking, and selling rare and exotic slaves. Elves, he had come to find, were a cash-crop. Now, he could only recount the many bloody skirmishes and close calls he and the old crew had encountered throughout their many successful years of terrorizing trade princes and simple merchants alike. He was public enemy number one; a scourge, a menace, and a demon in the tales of even the most seasoned of sailors and air-ship crews. In his heart, the captain knew he could not ignore the call forever... Fortunately, in the many years Baldax had sailed with the Iron Hellbringer and her band of cruel, relentless raiders, he had stashed away quite a bit of the gold and other treasures they had "liberated" on their journeys across the map. So it was with this 'pretty penny' that the captain set to work on a project secret even to his own wife. Time and again, Baldax would take leave for days on end; venturing down south with large sums of gold. As the months carried on, the captain found himself venturing down south more and more often; his own wife now worrying that perhaps his restless soul had consumed him and that now... he was preparing to leave. It wasn't until late one night when the two were talking about future plans and past memories that Baldax revealed to Gigi just what he had been up to after all this time. A project that would possibly go on to be his greatest achievement, even rivaling the construction of the Iron Hellbringer. 'The Drakesfire ' After everything... After all the blood, the violence, and the chaos... After the flight into hiding and the abandoning of his crew and ship... After very well fading into myth... The Dread Captain Baldax "Slugga" Spazwreck was back. However, his existence was still left unannounced and hidden from the rest of the world. Commissioned with nearly thirteen years worth of pillaged gold and silver, The Drakesfire was now the newest and greatest pride of the captain's life. A dual-balloon zeppelin fitted with two large, knife-like wings each fitted with two turbines, and sporting blood red sails, The Drakesfire was to be a mighty airship unlike any other. Slightly smaller than most zeppelins, The Drakesfire was built for speed and agility; able to shift its direction with little to no effort, slicing through the clouds and even the strongest winds like a hot knife through butter. However, it was not simply the build nor the maneuverability of the vessel that was its most striking and fearsome feature. Sporting a feature that mimicked the creature that inspired the vessels name, The Drakesfire was fitted with four large cannon-like "flame throwers" which blew forth four massive tongues of fire which cross-streamed to form a single, enormous stream of red fire. In this way, The Drakesfire would not only burn it's foes out of the sky, but scorch the earth; its flames consuming flesh, stone, and metal alike. The airship itself was ready; its construction complete and it's sails ready to catch the wind... However, there still remained one thing left to do: Assemble a crew of the boldest, strongest, and most fierce pirates to ever burn their names into the pages of history.